making up my mind

#passthescopeEDU June 16, 2016

Why did I need to wash the exterior of all my windows the morning after periscoping during #passthescopeEDU’s June episode? Why was that the first thing I did upon waking and drinking coffee?

The answer is that I had been impulsively inspired to write all over them with dry erase markers as a way to provide visual back up to my scope. Why window? Because they were there.

Originally, I had planned just to talk. I had hoped to have interaction with viewers. My preference had been to be unscripted. Why was that plan abandoned?

My fellow #passthescopeEDU scopers had been discussing the theme for June’s event for quite some time. Our attempt to settle on a single these didn’t work, so we settled on two. Ironically, one of the two was called #OneBigThing. That’s the struggle when collaborating. Keeping things narrow enough to be coherent and wide enough to allow individuality. The other theme was #GlobalConnections.

Choices were to choose one these or embrace both themes. Boldly, I chose both. Having the leisure time to experiment, I ventured forth. The results were mixed.

On the positive side, I was inspired to look more closely at the content I had planned to share. It also led me to experiment with linking to other platforms that would house more information.

One of the downfalls was that as though I were delivering my message instead of being present for my audience. I’m not even going to get into the technical problems which made the scope break up and skip. That was just life in the fast lane.

Looking more deeping into the content took me to Australia and to Italy, my #globalConnections. I rediscovered the Reggio Emilia approach and learned how well it speaks for #MakerED. The assumptions and principles of Reggio Emilia were my “OneBigIdea.”

Besides the Australian speaker lined up for the Constructing Modern Knowledge conference — #CMK16 was a centerpiece in my scope — there was another global aspect that I failed to mention in my scope. I alluded to it, but never got back it.

So here it is:

A Twitter friend tweeted that she was planning to attend this year. I tweeted back and we started a DM conversation in which we resolved that we would share a room and that I would pick her up in Boston and bring her to New Hampshire for the event! This had been my original “GlobalConnection.” We are both stoked.

(Wanted to embed tweet but it failed.)

One of the pleasures of the broadcast was showcasing some of the electronic textiles that I’m working on.

Thank you for blogging about your PasstheScopeEDU Periscope Cynthia. I LOVED the window writing, despite the technical difficulties with the broadcast. I wonder if it was wifi vs data plan since you were outside? Reggio Emilia sounds very interesting – I’m looking it up as soon as I finish commenting. I have a wonderful, creative friend in Floyd, VA who this reminds me of. She owns a B&B and hosts art and writing workshops for adults lead by amazingly creative people and summer science-infused art camps. Ambrosia Inn….